Mohenjo-Daro, which scholars believe means "hill of the dead," was an ancient Indian city located on the west bank of the Indus River in the Indus-Sarasvati region. The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro were discovered in 1922. The other Indus-Sarasvati city that was known of at that time was Harappa, discovered in 1826. Over time, thousands of ancient settlements have been discovered along the banks of the Indus River and the now-dried-up Sarasvati River. Most of these settlements are clustered around the Sarasvati River and include cities as large as Mohenjo-Daro, such as Ganweriwala, Kalibangan, and Rakhigarhi. The people of Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus-Sarasvati region belonged to what many scholars refer to as the Harappan civilization. This civilization was the late stage of a cultural tradition that dates back to at least 6500 B.C.E. The Harappan civilization included a variety of ethnic groups and flourished for 800 years, from approximately 2700 B.C.E. until 1900 B.C.E. Many archeologists and scholars focus on Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa when studying Harappan - or Indus-Sarasvati - civilization because they were the earliest discovered and thus most thoroughly excavated sites. Mohenjo-Daro was an extremely well-planned city that was similar in design to Harappa in the north. Both cities were approximately 3 miles in diameter, laid out in a gridlike formation, and were built primarily of burnt and unfired mud bricks. Like Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro was divided roughly into two areas: a fortress-type area, or citadel, to the west and a lower city to the east. The citadel was approximately 400 yards long and 200 yards wide, and it was built on a mud and brick platform that raised it 50 feet above the lower city. A wall surrounded the citadel and contained notches from which people could look out and defend the area. The lower city primarily consisted of houses. Archeologists have also discovered what they believe to be craft workshops in both parts of the city. Today, archeologists continue to excavate various areas of Mohenjo-Daro, and their finding help build our understanding of this great Indian civilization.
Day 1
For each geographic area of the classroom archeological site (A-H) on the map, locate the site, look at the placard and pictureof each artifact(s) and answer the question printed on the placard by filling out the "My Ideas" section of the handout: Notes About Ancient Artifacts and Ruins. You should have this completed from your last class.
to fill out the"Archeologists' Ideas"on your handout: Notes About Ancient Artifacts and Ruins.
Do not use more than 35 words in the "Archeologists' Ideas" box! This means you can not copy all of the text from the notes. You must summarize.
Step 2:Look at the picture of an artist's rendition of what Mohenjo-Daro might have looked like and answer the following Comprehension Questions on your wiki page (answers should be fully thought out and worthy of upper school).
1. What have you learned about daily life in Mohenjo-Daro from this activity? 2. Which aspects of daily life do you see represented in the picture that the artist drew? 3. In what ways do you think Mohenjo-Daro was like a modern city? 4. Why do you think it is difficult for us to know exactly what life was like in ancient civilizations like those in the Indus-Sarasvati region? 5. What do you think might have contributed to the decline of Mohenjo-Daro?
Background
Mohenjo-Daro, which scholars believe means "hill of the dead," was an ancient Indian city located on the west bank of the Indus River in the Indus-Sarasvati region. The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro were discovered in 1922. The other Indus-Sarasvati city that was known of at that time was Harappa, discovered in 1826. Over time, thousands of ancient settlements have been discovered along the banks of the Indus River and the now-dried-up Sarasvati River. Most of these settlements are clustered around the Sarasvati River and include cities as large as Mohenjo-Daro, such as Ganweriwala, Kalibangan, and Rakhigarhi. The people of Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus-Sarasvati region belonged to what many scholars refer to as the Harappan civilization. This civilization was the late stage of a cultural tradition that dates back to at least 6500 B.C.E. The Harappan civilization included a variety of ethnic groups and flourished for 800 years, from approximately 2700 B.C.E. until 1900 B.C.E. Many archeologists and scholars focus on Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa when studying Harappan - or Indus-Sarasvati - civilization because they were the earliest discovered and thus most thoroughly excavated sites. Mohenjo-Daro was an extremely well-planned city that was similar in design to Harappa in the north. Both cities were approximately 3 miles in diameter, laid out in a gridlike formation, and were built primarily of burnt and unfired mud bricks. Like Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro was divided roughly into two areas: a fortress-type area, or citadel, to the west and a lower city to the east. The citadel was approximately 400 yards long and 200 yards wide, and it was built on a mud and brick platform that raised it 50 feet above the lower city. A wall surrounded the citadel and contained notches from which people could look out and defend the area. The lower city primarily consisted of houses. Archeologists have also discovered what they believe to be craft workshops in both parts of the city. Today, archeologists continue to excavate various areas of Mohenjo-Daro, and their finding help build our understanding of this great Indian civilization.
Day 1
For each geographic area of the classroom archeological site (A-H) on the map, locate the site, look at the placard and picture of each artifact(s) and answer the question printed on the placard by filling out the "My Ideas" section of the handout: Notes About Ancient Artifacts and Ruins. You should have this completed from your last class.
Day 2
Step 1: Use the following
Do not use more than 35 words in the "Archeologists' Ideas" box! This means you can not copy all of the text from the notes. You must summarize.
Step 2: Look at the picture of an artist's rendition of what Mohenjo-Daro might have looked like and answer the following Comprehension Questions on your wiki page (answers should be fully thought out and worthy of upper school).
1. What have you learned about daily life in Mohenjo-Daro from this activity?
2. Which aspects of daily life do you see represented in the picture that the artist drew?
3. In what ways do you think Mohenjo-Daro was like a modern city?
4. Why do you think it is difficult for us to know exactly what life was like in ancient civilizations like those in the Indus-Sarasvati region?
5. What do you think might have contributed to the decline of Mohenjo-Daro?